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Gurkhas
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of proposals for the future of the brigade of Gurkhas for the economy of Nepal.
Mr. Waldegrave : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence said on 22 May, it is not possible to be definitive at this stage, but we expect that the benefits to the Nepalese economy of the Gurkha connection will remain substantial.
Tibet
Mr. Wolfson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what consideration has been given by him to initiating any moves to enable United Nations observers to visit Tibet ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what further action is open to him to demonstrate Her Majesty's Government's concern for the people of Tibet ;
(3) what further approaches he is considering making to the Chinese Government to reflect widespread continuing concern over the treatment of the people and culture of Tibet by China.
Mr. Waldegrave : We deplore abuses of human rights wherever they occur and we have made clear to the Chinese authorities on many occasions the real concern in this country about human rights in Tibet. The Chinese
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Government are well aware of our dismay at recent events in Tibet and our hope that martial law will be lifted soon. We shall continue to seek suitable opportunities to make our views known. Under the terms of martial law in Tibet, foreigners including diplomats are excluded from entering Lhasa. If, however, a serious consular case should arise, we would of course request permission to enter Tibet. We shall keep the position under review.Montserrat (Banks)
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on alleged fraudulent activity by banks registered in Montserrat.
Mr. Eggar : We are aware of allegations concerning serious irregularities in the banking system of Montserrat. The responsibility for the banking system of Montserrat rests with the Government of Montserrat who are taking urgent steps to investigate these reports and have obtained assistance from the United Kingdom in carrying out their inquiries. Whilst we have no direct responsibility for the business of banks in Montserrat, individuals are advised to exercise caution in any dealings with banks registered there.
Council of Ministers
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of forthcoming business in the European Community Council of Ministers.
Mrs. Chalker : The usual forecast was deposited in the House earlier today. At present 13 meetings of the Council of Ministers are planned for June.
The Consumers Affairs Council on 1 June will discuss the consumer credit directive which will harmonise the method of calculating annual percentage rate (APR) of charges on credit. The Council will also discuss a proposed Council resolution setting out future priorities for consumer policy ; a Commission report on progress of the Council regulation of 9 June 1986 on consumer education in primary and secondary schools ; and a Commission proposal for a Council directive on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states concerning general product safety. There will be a formal mid-term review of the five-year European home and leisure accident surveillance system (EHLASS) pilot scheme.
The annual EC/ACP Council of Ministers meeting will be held in Brussels on 2 June. This will be followed on 3 to 5 June by the next EC/ACP ministerial negotiating meeting in the current renegotiation of the Lome convention.
The Transport Council on 5 and 6 June is expected to continue its discussions on negotiations on shipping with west and central Africa ; possible arrangements for introducing road haulage cabotage ; the weights of two, three, four, five and six-axled commercial vehicles ; the progress of negotiations with Austria, Switzerland and Yugoslavia on the transit of Community traffic through those countries ; the maximum permitted blood alcohol concentration for vehicle drivers ; the compulsory use of seat belts in vehicles of less than 3.5 tonnes ; the tread depth of tyres of certain categories of motor vehicles and their trailers ; statistical returns in respect of the carriage of
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goods by road ; a possible code of conduct for computerised reservation systems in air transport ; and air traffic systems capacity problems. It may also discuss positive measures of support for the Community shipping fleet ; vocational training for certain drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods by road ; and the inter-regional air services directive.The Environment Council meets on 8 and 9 June. The Government are hoping for agreement on a resolution on climate change which will acknowledge the importance of the problem and call on the Community to develop suitable policies in response to it. The Council will also discuss a proposed directive establishing a safety regime for work using genetically modified organisms and a draft directive on the deliberate release of such organisms into the environment. Other subjects for discussion are the Commission's amended proposal for small car emission standards ; a proposal to amend directive 80/779/EEC to provide for stringent limit values of sulphur dioxide ; a proposal to limit emissions from existing municipal waste incineration plants ; a proposal to add four new substances to the framework directive on substances in water ; a draft directive on harmonising member states' programmes for reducing and eliminating pollution caused by waste from the titanium dioxide industry ; and Commission reports on proposed directives concerning protection of habitats and nitrate pollution in water.
The Social Affairs Council, meeting on 12 and 13 June, is expected to give preliminary consideration to a Commission communication on a draft charter of social rights and consider with a view to adoption the health and safety framework directive. The Council will also consider the Hanover study of working conditions ; proposals for a directive on equal treatment in social security ; proposals for a decision on measures to foster the economic and social integration of the least-favoured groups ; and draft presidency conclusions on employment of the disabled and the sharing of work and family responsibilities. It may also discuss proposals for a regulation on measures to help redundant shipworkers and amendments to the family benefit provisions of the migrant workers regulations.
The Foreign Affairs Council on 12 and 13 June will discuss further the draft mandate for negotiations with the USSR on a trade, commercial and economic co-operation agreement. The Council may also discuss further the Community's trade relations with the United States including the dispute over hormones in meat, soya, and developments in the implementation of section "Super 301" of the 1988 US Trade Act. There may be discussion of progress in the GATT Uruguay round negotiations and progress on the Lome renegotiation in the light of the EC/ACP ministerial negotiating meeting in Brussels on 3 to 5 June.
The Internal Market Council on 14 and 15 June will discuss a number of measures relevant to the completion of the single market. The Economic and Finance Council will meet on 19 June to discuss the Commission's proposed reform of the financial regulation and to have a follow-up discussion to the March Council on combating fraud against the Community budget. The Council is also expected to discuss draft directives on solvency ratios for credit institutions ; the second banking co-ordination directive ; taxation of savings ; a report on tax approximation from the Committee of Permanent Representatives ; the draft 18th VAT directive concerning the ending of various
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derogations available to the member states under the terms of the 6th VAT directive ; and three company tax measures designed to encourage co-operation between enterprises in different member states. The discussions on insider trading will focus on a draft directive co-ordinating regulations across the Community, thereby imposing minimum standards and providing for collaboration in the exchange of information. The Presidency hopes to reach a common position at the meeting.The Agriculture Council will meet on 19 and 20 June to discuss internal market items and certain amendments to quality and sparkling wine regulations. It may also discuss New Zealand sheep and butter and the reviews of the cereals co-responsibility levy and of the sheep regime.
The Research Council will meet on 20 June. The agenda anticipates the adoption of eight R and D programme proposals : EUROTRA (machine translation) ; FLAIR (food science and technology) ; VALUE (dissemination and utilisation of results from scientific research) ; MAST (marine science and technology) ; MONITOR (forecasting and assessment of R and D) ; DOSES (statistical expert systems) ; Radiation protection ; and TELEMAN (remote handling in nuclear hazardous environments). It is expected that common positions will be agreed on the following programme proposals : STEP-EPOCH (environment and climatology) ; BRIDGE (biotechnology) and raw materials. There will also be discussions of a proposed resolution on COST (European Co-operation in S and T) and the mid-term review of the framework programme.
The Fisheries Council meets on 21 June to discuss Community aid for surveillance costs. It may also discuss fisheries relations between the Community and the USSR, Community acceptance of an additional Greenland quota and the proposed reduction of fishing quotas in NAFO waters.
The European Council will meet on 26 and 27 June in Madrid. The Council is expected to concentrate on discussion of the Delors report on economic and monetary union, the single market, social and other issues. Further details of the agenda will be decided at the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 and 13 June.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Population Activities
Sir Charles Morrison : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was total expenditure on population activities for each of the years 1987 and 1988 ; and what percentage this represented of the total gross public expenditure on overseas aid for each of the years 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Chris Patten : In 1987 total expenditure on population-related activities was £15.9 million which represented 1.3 per cent. of gross public expenditure on overseas aid. Of this figure, £13.2 million was spent through multilateral population programmes.
Final disbursement figures for bilateral government assistance in the population sector are not yet available for 1988. Contributions to multilateral population programmes in 1988 totalled £14.066 million.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Exports and Imports (Turkey)
Sir John Farr : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the obstacles by way of tariff, duty, and so on placed on (a) the export of British textiles to Turkey and (b) the import of Turkish textiles to the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Alan Clark : The Government are very concerned about the high level of taxation imposed on textiles entering Turkey. The table shows the position for a range of textiles and garment categories ; in each case the EC duty on imports from Turkey is zero. The Turkish industry voluntarily restrains its exports of certain textile and clothing products to the Community.
The continuing high level of Turkish import taxation is counter to the terms of the EC/Turkey association agreement.
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|Basic tariff |Municipal tax (of Customs|Stamp tax |Stamp duty |Import premium |Wharf dues (per cent. of |Housing fund |Total per cent.
|Duty) |total)
|per cent. |per cent. |per cent. |per cent. |per cent. |approx.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Synthetic filament yarn |10 |15 |2 |10 |10 |5 |$50/tonne |41
Wool cloth |20 |15 |2 |10 |10 |5 |$10/kg |80
Cotton cloth (finished) |30 |15 |2 |10 |10 |5 |$2/kg |79
Synthetic staple fibre |8 |15 |2 |10 |10 |5 |$15/tonne |38
Spun synthetic yarn |30 |15 |2 |10 |10 |5 |$15/tonne |64
Knitted outwear |40 |15 |2 |10 |10 |5 |$20/kg |124
Men's suits 87.08 |40 |15 |2 |10 |10 |5 |10 per cent./kg |89
| CIF value
Post Offices
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has on the future of Crown post office provision in (a) East Sussex and (b) Brighton.
Mr. Forth : Detailed decisions about the nature and extent of the post office network are an operational matter for the Post Office. However, I understand that it plans to convert to agency status one Crown office in Kemptown, Brighton and two further Crown offices at Polegate and Hove in East Sussex. They will continue to handle the full range of transactions currently carried out by Crown offices. It has no plans to reduce the number of outlets in Brighton or East Sussex.
Scottish and Newcastle Brewery (Takeover)
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what statutory basis he recently refused to permit a takeover of Scottish and Newcastle Brewers ; and if he will be required to seek to amend or repeal that legislation to conform to European Community obligations.
Mr. Maude : Action by my right hon. and noble Friend in relation to the proposed takeover of Scottish and Newcastle Breweries by Elders IXL was taken under the Fair Trading Act 1973. No action is required in respect of that legislation to conform to European Community obligations.
Manufacturing Undertakings (Change of Control)
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has powers to extend section 13 of the Industry Act 1975 to cover economic activities other than manufacturing.
Mr. Maude : The Secretary of State has no power to extend section 13 to activities other than those of manufacturing industry as defined in the Act.
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VAT
Mr Butterfill : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total number of new companies (a) registering and (b) deregistering for value added tax purposes for each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : Estimates for the United Kingdom are as follows :
Registrations (
a)
Deregistrations (
b) For VAT (
thousands)
|(a)|(b)
-----------------
1983 |180|145
1984 |182|152
1985 |182|163
1986 |191|164
1987 |205|160
Source:
Department of
Employment.
This represents a net increase of 11.5 per cent. in the stock of businesses registered for VAT between the end of 1982 and the end of 1987, the latest date for which reliable estimates are available.
Induction Loops
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether his Department has any proposals to change present regulations on the licensing and fees for induction loops in public buildings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : Since the implementation of an exemption order on 1 May 1989, licences under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 are no longer required for a wide range of low power devices including all induction loop systems complying with the Department's performance specification MPT1337 or any of its predecessors BR13, BR19 and BR34.
A new specification, MPT1370, for higher power induction loops, necessary for some larger buildings, is currently being drafted. It is expected that these will also be made exempt from licensing.
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Ferguson's Shipbuilders Ltd
Dr. Godman : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any progress has been made on the disposal of Ferguson's Shipbuilders Ltd, Port Glasgow.
Mr. Newton : I have today invited the chairman of British Shipbuilders to open negotiations with the HLD Group Ltd of Greenock as preferred bidder for the assets of the corporation's shipbuilding subsidiary Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd at Port Glasgow. HLD's bid depends on its reaching an early and satisfactory agreement with the work force. I should make it clear that, should this not prove possible, I could not be optimistic that there would be any other realistic prospect of achieving a successful sale.
Industry Act 1972
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans to modify the administration of assistance provided under section 10 of the Industry Act 1972 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Newton : Assistance under section 10 of the Industry Act 1972, known as the home credit shipbuilding guarantee scheme, will in future be subject to an explicit test of need before offers are made. This will bring the administration of the scheme into line with that of other departmental schemes.
Net Book Agreement
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report, column 470, he has any plans to reconsider the net book agreement ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 25 May 1989] : I have no such plans. Under the relevant legislation, the review of arrangements such as the net book agreement is a matter for the Restrictive Practices Court, on application by the Director General of Fair Trading. The director general has recently announced that he is considering whether to ask the court to look again at the agreement. He has invited representations by the end of May, and hopes to be in a position to take a final decision by the end of July.
Estate Agents
Mr. Summerson : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will make a statement on the possible introduction of a code of practice and other regulatory measures covering estate agents as recommended in the
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report prepared by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and submitted to the Under-Secretary of State for Industry and Consumer Affairs on 27 January.Mr. Forth [holding answer 25 May 1989] : I am in the process of concluding a review of estate agency. In the course of this review I have taken account of proposals from a number of interested parties, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
I hope to make an announcement shortly.
HEALTH
Consultants
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the Trent regional health authority the average number of National Health Service operations done by consultants in each specialty in each of the past five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Freeman : The available information on the numbers of in-patient cases, day cases and medical staff is shown in the tables. It is not possible to derive meaningful averages because operations performed on out- patients are excluded and some operations are performed by registrars.
Estimated number of operations performed, by specialty,
in National Health Service non-psychiatric hospitals,
Trent regional health authority
|Estimated visits to |Cases operated on in
|theatre in-patients |operating theatre
|departments
|1985<2><3> |1987-88<1>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General medicine |12,650 |4,872
Cardiology |2,220 |76
General surgery |80,690 |77,991
Ear, nose and throat |25,810 |26,708
Traumatic and orthopaedic |39,810 |43,885
Ophthalmology |13,100 |14,774
Radiotherapy |960 |1,114
Urology |15,050 |16,633
Plastic surgery |5,350 |7,674
Thoracic surgery<5> |3,450 |3,833
Dental (oral) surgery |7,430 |9,914
Neurosurgery |1,620 |1,903
Gynaecology |55,870 |41,049
All general practitioner units |160 |256
Other specialties |<4>6,910 |14,266
|------- |-------
Total |<4>271,080 |264,948
<1> Source: KHOB.
<2> Ordinary admissions and day cases.
<3> Source: Hospital in-patient enquiry (HIPE).
<4> Excludes obstetrics.
<5> Cardiothoracic surgery for 1987-88.
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NHS Hospital Medical and Dental Consultants Trent Regional Health Authority at 30
September each year.
Whole-time equivalent
|1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Medical and Dental Specialities |995.8 |1,026.7|1,043.5|1.094.5|1,145.1
All Medical Specialties |965.5 |995.2 |1,010.5|1,059.7|1,109.3
General Medicine |73.0 |75.4 |76.5 |81.0 |82.0
Cardiology |8.0 |5.0 |6.0 |8.0 |8.0
Diabetes and Endocrinology |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |0.8 |0.5
Gastroenterology |0.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0
Nephrology |4.0 |4.0 |4.0 |5.0 |8.0
Thoracic Medicine |9.6 |10.6 |8.0 |8.0 |8.1
Geriatric Medicine |34.7 |34.7 |37.9 |42.5 |43.1
Audiological Medicine |0.5 |0.5 |0.5 |0.5 |1.5
Clinical Genetics |2.4 |2.4 |2.4 |2.4 |2.4
Clinical Neuro. Phys |3.7 |3.7 |4.0 |4.0 |4.0
Clinical Pharm. & Thera. |3.4 |3.9 |8.4 |2.8 |3.3
Clinical Physiology |0.7 |0.7 |0.7 |0.7 |0.7
Dermatology |15.5 |15.5 |15.5 |16.1 |17.7
Genito-Urinary Medicine |10.5 |12.5 |12.5 |13.5 |16.0
Medical Oncology |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Infectious Diseases |2.4 |2.4 |2.4 |2.4 |2.5
Neurology |8.0 |8.0 |10.0 |10.0 |11.0
Occupational Health |0.0 |0.0 |1.0 |2.0 |3.0
Rheumatology |14.1 |15.1 |15.6 |15.6 |18.8
Other |1.4 |1.4 |0.8 |0.5 |0.3
Paediatrics |41.9 |44.4 |45.2 |47.2 |52.3
Paediatric Neurology |1.0 |1.0 |2.0 |2.0 |1.0
Accident and Emergency |15.0 |15.0 |14.8 |14.8 |18.7
General Surgery |81.4 |66.7 |88.5 |67.8 |67.6
Cardio-Thoracic Surgery |9.0 |8.0 |8.0 |8.0 |9.3
Otolaryngology |29.8 |29.3 |28.5 |30.9 |31.0
Neurosurgery |8.0 |8.0 |5.0 |6.0 |6.0
Opthalmology |30.8 |31.1 |31.7 |31.7 |32.7
Paediatric Surgery |4.0 |4.0 |4.0 |4.0 |5.0
Plastic Surgery |7.8 |6.8 |7.0 |8.0 |8.0
Traumatic and Ortho. Surgery |53.7 |53.5 |56.2 |57.0 |59.1
Urology |11.0 |11.1 |13.1 |14.1 |15.1
Obstetrics and Gynaecology |55.2 |56.8 |57.1 |57.5 |58.8
Anaesthetics |152.3 |159.0 |159.8 |168.7 |174.7
Radiology |65.0 |64.8 |70.5 |75.5 |80.2
Nuclear Medicine |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Radiotherapy |14.5 |15.8 |13.2 |15.4 |15.5
General Pathology |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Blood Transfusion |3.0 |3.0 |4.0 |4.0 |4.0
Chemical Pathology |16.0 |15.0 |16.0 |16.0 |16.0
Haematology |22.7 |23.9 |23.4 |23.4 |24.6
Histopathology |36.9 |36.9 |35.4 |37.4 |43.6
Immuno-Pathology |3.3 |3.3 |3.3 |3.3 |3.3
Medical Microbiology |14.8 |14.3 |18.3 |18.3 |20.3
Neuropathology |2.0 |2.0 |1.0 |1.5 |1.5
Mental Illness |81.1 |85.1 |83.1 |90.2 |96.9
Child and Adol. Psychiatry |19.0 |20.0 |18.1 |18.7 |23.6
Forensic Psychiatry |1.0 |1.0 |2.0 |2.0 |1.0
Mental Handicap |12.8 |12.8 |13.1 |13.7 |14.1
Psychotherapy |3.0 |3.0 |4.0 |5..0 |5.0
All Dental Specialties |30.1 |31.5 |33.0 |34.8 |35.8
Oral surgery |18.2 |17.2 |17.2 |18.3 |17.4
Orthodontics |9.4 |9.3 |9.6 |10.3 |11.8
Restorative dentistry |4.5 |5.0 |6.6 |8.2 |11.8
Paediatric dentistry |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
(SM13A)
Source: Hospital medical and dental staff regional tables R1
Notes:
1. Includes all permanent paid and honorary staff.
2. From 1987 Senior Hospital Medical/Dental officers (with allowance) are included
with "Other Staff".
Transplants
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the effects on transplant services of the White Paper on the National Health Service.
Mr. Freeman : Organ transplant services are normally provided on a supra-district, regional or supra-regional basis. The NHS review White Paper states that most of these services will in future be bought by districts for their resident populations from their basic allocations. The White Paper does, however, recognise that some central
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funding will be necessary for the development of supra-regional services, and that regional health authorities may decide on a similar approach to the funding of some regional or supra-district services. The NHS management executive will discuss with RHAs the detailed application to these services of the new funding arrangements proposed.For further details of the proposed arrangements for supra-regional services, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price) on 25 May.
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Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about dialysis and transplant rates in each of the EEC countries.
Mr. Freeman : According to information provided by the European Dialysis and Transplant Association, the number of patients alive on all forms of renal replacement therapy, including dialysis and transplant, on 31 December 1987 was :
Country |Total |Rate per million
|population
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |3,905 |396
Denmark |1,191 |233
Federal Republic of Germany |26,402 |434
France |18,482 |333
Greece |2,568 |257
Ireland |782 |218
Italy |18,697 |327
Luxembourg |151 |413
Netherlands |5,136 |353
Portugal |3,086 |300
Spain |12,941 |333
United Kingdom |15,119 |267
In recent years, the acceptance of new patients on to therapy has been increasing rapidly in the United Kingdom. The percentage change in each EC country from 1984 to 1987 is shown below.
Country |Percentage change -------------------------------------------------------- Belgium |+12 Denmark |+24 Federal Republic of Germany |+37 France |+24 Greece |+23 Ireland |-15 Italy |+15 Luxembourg |+102 Netherlands |-11 Portugal |-2 Spain |-7 United Kingdom |+41
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many United Kingdom citizens entitled to National Health Service treatment underwent transplants in private hospitals in the United Kingdom in 1988.
Mr. Freeman : Precise information is not available centrally, but the number is thought to be very small.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on the waiting list for (a) heart, (b) heart-lung and (c) lung transplants for each of the last five years.
Mr. Freeman : According to information provided by the United Kingdom transplant service, the number of National Health Service patients waiting for a heart, heart-lung, or lung transplant since January 1986 was :
|Number
-------------------------------
6 January 1986 |269
31 December 1986 |362
31 December 1987 |337
31 December 1988 |419
22 May 1989 |474
The rising waiting list reflects rising referrals to the transplant centres as the success of the technique has
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become increasingly apparent. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State announced on 13 December 1988 at column 539 his intention to designate and fund a fifth supra-regional heart transplant centre from 1 April 1990.Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the median waiting time for patients on the kidney transplant waiting list ;
(2) how many people are waiting for a kidney transplant ; and how many were waiting in each of the last five years.
Mr. Freeman : According to information provided by the United Kingdom transplant service, the number of National Health Service patients awaiting a kidney transplant in the United Kingdom for the last five years was as follows :
#
|Number
-----------------------------------
1 January 1985 |<1>2,985
6 January 1986 |<1>3,443
31 December 1986 |<1>3,468
31 December 1987 |3,306
31 December 1988 |3,493
22 May 1989 |3,549
<1> This figure includes patients
waiting in Eire.
Information on waiting times for kidney transplants is given in my reply to the hon. Member for Southport (Mr. Fearn) on 22 February 1989 at columns 674-75.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the effect on the United Kingdom transplant waiting list of demand from other EEC countries.
Mr. Freeman : It appears unlikely that the treatment of EC patients under any of the NHS transplant programmes has a material effect on United Kingdom waiting lists. EC patients would not generally wish their names to be added to the waiting list for donor kidneys. In the case of liver transplants, more organs are available at present than are required to meet United Kingdom needs. The relatively small number of heart transplants performed on EC patients is roughly equivalent to the number of organs donated to United Kingdom patients from EC sources.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many conferences or seminars on transplantation have been sponsored or organised by the Department of Health in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Freeman : Most conferences on transplantation are organised by health authorities and professional and voluntary bodies. The Department provides encouragement and, on occasions, participates in such conferences. Accurate statistics on departmental involvement over the last 10 years could be assembled only at disproportionate cost.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications for funding for publicity on organ transplants have been made to the Department of Health in each of the last five years ; and how many have been granted.
Mr. Freeman : Formal applications for assistance with publicity expenditure are rarely received, although ideas
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for publicity initiatives are often put forward in correspondence or discussion. It would be possible to assemble a comprehensive list of these ideas only at a disproportionate cost. However, the Department is currently considering suggestions for publicity projects put forward by a number of organisations associated with transplantation, including the National Federation of Kidney Patients' Association, the British Transplant Games, and the United Kingdom Transplant Co-ordinators Association.Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) in how many languages the donor card is available ;
(2) if he will make a statement about transplantation in the minority ethnic groups.
Mr. Freeman : Patients from minority ethnic groups often experience relatively long waiting times for transplants because of the difficulty of obtaining a well-matched organ. This is due largely to low rates of organ donation in these communities, which appear to be associated with culture and tradition. Transplant units in areas with substantial ethnic minority populations carry out local projects aimed at increasing awareness of transplantation among these groups. One unit has provided leaflets and other publicity material in the majority ethnic language explaining organ donation and the use of the donor card. The Department's organ donor card is in English, but I understand that in one area a card has been produced in Gujurati.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those departmental health authorities which hold a Transplant Day to draw attention to the potential of organ donation.
Mr. Freeman : We do not collect this information centrally. I suggest that the hon. Member contacts health authorities for the details she requires.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to whether a central library of educational material about organ donation and transplantation has been collected.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that a number of organisations associated with transplantation are considering ways in which such a library could be established.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing publicity about organ donation and transplant among doctors, nurses and the public.
Mr. Freeman : We have recently produced a new leaflet to accompany the donor card. Display material and a video on transplantation and organ donation for professional staff are in the final stages of preparation.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support is given to the public relations offices of the United Kingdom transport service ; and what is the offices' total departmental budget.
Mr. Freeman : The Department funds an officer at the United Kingdom transplant service to deal with inquiries about the work of the organisation. We do not provide UKTS with a budget for publicity on organ donation. The funds for this are handled by the Department's information division.
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Hospital Beds
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each hospital over 250 beds in the Trent regional health authority (a) the land and building capital evaluation and (b) equipment capital evaluation ; what reviews he is carrying out in respect of hospitals paying capital interest charges ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The current value of the NHS estate does not provide site values in terms of bed numbers. Land and building will be valued later this year by district valuers for the purpose of introducing capital charges. Equipment will be valued by local health authorities.
Census Statistics
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether it is still the intention of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to release small area statistics in a form which would make it possible to match these small area statistics with other personal databases precisely through the post code ; (2) what plans the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys has to guarantee confidentiality of small area statistics from the 1991 census in the light of the fact that the use of the post code will make it possible for small area statistics to be matched with other personal databases.
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